Would you let your tenants have a puppy?

[Creamegg11]

Just that really. Tenants moved in two months ago into my two bedroom first floor flat with a section of back garden. They hadn’t mention any wants of having a dog when the letting agents asked all prospective tenants of any requirement that they want. I just had new carpets fitted to stairs and landing last year.

Tenants offered to pay extra deposit and puppy proof the flat with covers for floors etc. What annoys me is their text saying they are planning to get a puppy instead of asking whether it’s possible. It clearly states in their tenancy contract that no pets allowed unless landlord gives consent.

I told them I have a think. I don’t want the hassle of any damage or smell to flat from a dog once they leave, offer deposit or not.

@AllieCat26 can they not just pay more deposit? No they can't.

Landlords told tenants til we were blue in the face that the tenants fee act would make it harder to rent with pets because the deposit was capped at 5 weeks. If you've ever seen the damage a dog can do to carpets shitting on it constantly, 5 weeks won't even come close to covering the cost. I have been here and had to replace carpets across the entire house and the deposit protection people felt it appropriate to return the deposit despite obvious proof of damage.

OP. Big fucking no. In fact I'd be looking at removing these tenants asap as they are already showing signs of having no respect for your property.

By the way, I am a dog owner, and I have agreed with tenants to keep dogs and cats, as long as they can be trusted and look after the property. 2 months in, not a chance

I was in your tenants position a few years ago. However, I asked permission and already had been a tenant for just over 6 months. I had a good relationship with my landlord and had passed all inspections to that point.
I think you are right to say no at the moment. They haven't been tenants very long. However, I would maybe reconsider in 6-12months time should they prove to be reliable tenants. They signed a contract for no pets and can't be surprised if you exercise the right to say no.
I do wish more landlords were open to pets. We couldn't find a rental at short notice that would take our tiny dog when we sold out house and our new one wasnt ready.

I'm surprised by all these responses. You're not allowed to just blanket ban pets, it's against the law. Tenants have a right to live their lives and banning pets really does contribute to animals being abandoned.

I would suggest to them that you have concerns with that breed/type of pet due to size of the flat, garden situation etc and suggest what would be a reasonable dog for them to own and have in the flat.

"The Consumer Rights Act (2015) states that a no pet clause should allow for the tenant to ask for permission to keep a pet. The landlord is not allowed to unreasonably refuse the request. Obviously, this is open to interpretation. It is considered best practice to outline the reasons for refusal, but it isn’t necessarily a requirement according to the CRA.
In some cases, the landlord removes the section that allows tenants to request permission. The subsequent clause is a blanket ban on pets, and this is not considered enforceable. If you, as a tenant, were to take this to court, then it is likely that you would win the right to keep a pet."

I allowed cats when I rented out our house, but I had had cats here. I did not and would not allow dogs.

I'd say no, as you might not get the money back for any damage.

Nope

My last tenants had a house trained dog. They paid double deposit but I had no reason to keep any of it back as there was no damage to the property and they had it professionally cleaned when they moved out. New tenants moved in a month later, turned the heating on and a billion flea eggs hatched. The place was infested and it has been difficult and expensive to get rid of them.

I wouldn't allow tenants to have a puppy for this and many other reasons that others have mentioned - especially that they can be extremely destructive.

I would rather a tenant had a pet than a child. The destruction I have seen to properties caused by children has been far worse than that with pets. Plus, long term they know they will struggle to find another property therefore will look after the place

Cloudchaos is right in that there are some moves afoot to make it easier for tenants to have pets, but that's really to remove the blanket ban on all pets, even hamsters! You can't compel landlords to accept 2 rottweilers in a bedsit, just because the owners want it. The "reasonable refusal" is open to interpretation (and the OP had the must seek permission clause in her contract, so it is not a blanket refusal)
Refusing to allow a large dog in a first floor flat, that has to go up and down carpeted stairs to access a shared garden is entirely reasonable. I doubt many people would think otherwise.

I wouldn't go into suggesting more suitable breeds either - really, why would or should you? This couple weren't upfront about wanting a dog, and have only been there 8 weeks. There is no way of knowing if they are careful and will look after the property. It's not a really a suitable property for a dog, and the animals's needs are more important than the tenant's wants.

Incidentally, I wonder is this is another of the "Ohh, lets get a lockdown puppy, as we're at home" mob. Yes, you are at home - for now!! What happens later? Dog ownership and puppy prices have been booming over the Covid period, and all the shelters are bracing themselves for the inevitable fall-out.

No way.
You aren't legally allowed to take more deposit from them (max is 5 weeks rent which must be lodged in a deposit protection scheme).

The awful tenants ruin it for the rest of the good tenants, but that's how it is.

OP is telling the tenant that they cannot get a puppy but she is being reasonable in the given circumstances.

If she was renting out a farmhouse in the countryside then maybe refusing would not be so reasonable?

They already sound like pains in the arses trying to tell you what they’re doing...cheeky fuckers!

I made the mistake as a new, naive landlord to let my tenant have 2 cats. They lived there for one year, and I had to completely redecorate when they left. Just before they moved in I had just had new carpet put down and fresh coat of paint, but the place was wrecked. Third floor flat so cats had no access to the outside, the carpets were full of piss and shit and completely torn up. They were shocked when I kept their full deposit to pay for repairs, they felt they had left it in great condition.

I have two cats and a dog myself and keep my place spotless as I have respect for my property, and assumed others would in my naïvety. But people honestly don't care when it isn't theirs.

My partner lets a 1 bed house out to a friend. Who has a cat, but the friend is too nervous to let the cat go outdoors, so doesn't even ever open a window in case it jumps out. The house is older and prone to damp and because he never opens a window it just stinks constantly when we visit. Not looking forward to sorting that place out when he eventually moves out.

I know this has been resolved, but I just had to say the most damage I ever saw done by a dog was a teenage labrador. They were waiting for it to grow out of chewing before they fixed their house, but, doors, skirting, wallpaper furniture, curtains - nothing was safe from those teeth, combined with holes in the garden making it look like the Somme. If you hadn't seen it you would have though it possible. (Mind you, they were very lacking in training methods and tended to let the dog run riot, but still.)

Cat yes. Dog - depends on breed.

I would say yes but not a lab in a flat is it ground floor? What’s on the floor? Because the downstairs neighbours will hear the dog trotting about.
I’d want an extra security deposit though. How long will the dog be left?
I’ve seen worse damage by tenants than pets... concrete poured down sink and toilet, excrement, rubbish, blood, vomit, hoarding, non payment of rent, streaks of filth from dirty shoes.

I’ve got a lab and you’d never know, he gets his feet washed, regular grooming, we don’t wear shoes in the house, dog bedding changed regularly.
Are they good tenants...

It depends. I said no to a tenant with a large dog. It wasn’t right to have such a large dog in the property. Poor dog.

It would be a No from me too.
I love dogs and have 3... but puppies can be very destructive, they will pee and poo and can easily ruin floors in the process.

The OP said:

First floor flat
No direct access to shared garden
Stairs and landing newly carpeted
Tenants have only been there 8 weeks

Did not mention wanting a dog when they took flat on. Agent asked if they had special requirements.
They have told (rather than ask) LL they are planning to get a Labrador puppy.

@Reedwarbler they aren’t all like that, but they aren’t toys and they do need lots of training and stimulation as you can’t exercise them much to start with.

@cloudchaos

I'm surprised by all these responses. You're not allowed to just blanket ban pets, it's against the law. Tenants have a right to live their lives and banning pets really does contribute to animals being abandoned.

I would suggest to them that you have concerns with that breed/type of pet due to size of the flat, garden situation etc and suggest what would be a reasonable dog for them to own and have in the flat.

"The Consumer Rights Act (2015) states that a no pet clause should allow for the tenant to ask for permission to keep a pet. The landlord is not allowed to unreasonably refuse the request. Obviously, this is open to interpretation. It is considered best practice to outline the reasons for refusal, but it isn’t necessarily a requirement according to the CRA.
In some cases, the landlord removes the section that allows tenants to request permission. The subsequent clause is a blanket ban on pets, and this is not considered enforceable. If you, as a tenant, were to take this to court, then it is likely that you would win the right to keep a pet."

This is what I said upthread. And op has plenty of reasons to say no to a lab puppy. Idk if they could refuse dogs full stop. But it’s a flat. I would have thought it being a flat to be enough of a reason. Ie noise, mess, soiling etc.

Right now, where I am at least, it’s a landlords market. Op will have no problem reletting if these people decide to move out to get a dog.

No way. Not fair on the Lab, for a start. Definitely not fair on you. If the garden is grassed the dog’s wee will ruin it (particularly if it is a bitch) and house training needs quick reactions to tie Going Outside to Good Dog, That’s Where You Wee/Poo.
Our Lab chewed so many things and she wasn’t shut away anywhere. She just......chewed for the lolz. Which was fine, as we owned the door frames, dado rails, kitchen cabinets, windowsills etc. Fine, but very expensive to replace and repair.

sreadorkipped to the end.
My tenants told me they had a young Lab, When I went round at some point I discovered Cane Corso on my sofa.......... www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fmommysmemorandum.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F06%2Fhow-big-do-cane-corsos-get.jpg%3Ffit%3D1040%252C795%26ssl%3D1&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmommysmemorandum.com%2Fbig-cane-corsos%2F&tbnid=V3MZuS3ENoRUiM&vet=12ahUKEwj8gI3OyL7sAhUJQRoKHVFQC2AQMygGegUIARDbAQ..i&docid=Up653zfj2tMHcM&w=1040&h=795&q=Cane%20Corso&client=safari&ved=2ahUKEwj8gI3OyL7sAhUJQRoKHVFQC2AQMygGegUIARDbAQ.
Was not happy

Skipped !

You will need to be on this like a rocket.

They 'informed' you?!

These are not respectful tenants. The lease was clear.

A pet request in those circumstances should be very polite and asking if you MIGHT consider this - and I don't think any decent tenant would ask unless they'd been there a year at least and built up some trust.

They've been there 8 weeks and they're telling you they're moving the goalposts?

Plus - a decent sized dog in a flat will destroy it. Scratches, scuffs, chewing. No way.

I would be on this, emailing until I got a reply. No point in arranging a check - they'll move the dog out for the day. How far away are you, can you spend a morning parked up outside? Do you know the nieghbours and could ask?

Have a feeling they'll get the dog.

I’m a tenant and have a pet. I think I would probably say no because it’s not a very big space to have a dog.
Our pet we disclosed prior to signing any contracts, is in our contract etc and we also agreed to carpet clean before leaving.

Up to you though. Are they otherwise good tenants? Do they pay on time? Those might be relevant factors too.